Spadices us. clustered near stem apex, enclosed within ± coloured deciduous bracts. Fls without per. ♂ polyandrous, sts with distinct rudimentary ovary; filaments us. filiform. ♀ often with staminodes; ovary 1- to ∞-carpellate, unilocular with parietal placentae, solid above; stigmas sessile, us. hippocrepiform, separate or confluent. Frs ± fleshy to almost woody, tightly packed together. Mostly root-climbers. Lvs ± scabrid on margins and midrib. About 60 spp. Mostly in and around the western Pacific, including northern and eastern Queensland. The one N.Z. sp. is the most southerly, and is endemic.